They demanded money from Ukrainian seamen: the organizer of the scheme will be sued
17.05.2023 - 12:30
An indictment was sent to the court against the organizer of the scheme, who demanded money from sailors for obtaining qualification documents.
The court will consider the case of a resident of Odessa who received a bribe from a sailor. He took the money for influencing the officials who issue qualification documents for sailors, the Kyiv City Prosecutor’s Office reports.
The investigation established that the suspect, together with accomplices, developed a mechanism and created circumstances under which the sailors were forced to turn to intermediary firms. The companies were controlled by the organizers of the scheme.
Also, Ukrainian sailors were forced to provide illegal benefits for processing the relevant documents.
“It was virtually impossible to get these documents without a bribe. At the same time, with the availability of a certain amount of money, any person, in particular, without appropriate specialized education and medical examination, was able to obtain seafarer’s documents of international standard, a certificate and a medical certificate,” the prosecutor’s office said.
From June 2022 to January 2023, the suspect received over UAH 100,000 for producing such documents. He held a position in one of the above LLCs.
He was detained in Odesa while receiving another $1,100 tranche. During the arrest, the organizer of the scheme tried to escape by jumping out of the window of the second floor, but he was stopped by operatives.
The pre-trial investigation of other participants in the crime continues.
As USM previously reported, participants in the scheme demanded money from sailors for influencing officials of educational and medical institutions, as well as members of State Qualification Commissions.
